Fourteenth
by Winged Cherry
Summary: It's winter and Chelsea can't get Vaughn out of her head. Meanwhile, the fourteenth is nearing. One-shot, Chelsea x Vaughn, third person perspective.


When they first met, she didn't know much about him. She only saw him when she stopped by at Mirabelle's for animal supplies or visited the café or dinner in the evening. He didn't speak much and was dressed in dark colours. The only brighter colours on him were his violet eyes and his silvery hair, which he both hid underneath an old fashioned cowboy hat. To her, nearly everything about him had been mysterious and interesting. Back then, she only knew he was an animal trader, talked to animals when he thought no one would hear, and she suspected he liked cows. Secretly, she had always thought he was kind of cute. If only he smiled more often, she pondered as she fed her chickens. She couldn't help but smile, recalling the first time she had seen him smile.

_It had been last winter, when her first chicken had gotten sick. She had wrapped her up in a soft blanket and took her to Mirabelle's animal shop. She had been scared her chicken had gotten some infection of some sorts, but Mirabelle had assured her it was just a cold. Armed with medicine, she had been about to leave when he had tapped her shoulder and offered to take another look at her chicken. 'Just to be sure', he'd said. As Mirabelle had told her, it turned out to be just a cold, but she was grateful anyway and thanked him. It took a while for him to respond, but when he did, he just smiled and answered 'You're welcome'._

She had seven chickens and had named them after months of the year. She had been wanting to add another one to the family ever since she got the seventh one, but didn't because she valued the lucky number. After feeding the other animals, she headed home, trying to rub the cold off her hands. It was quite cold for the second week of winter and the first layer of snow had already erased the colours of the landscape. She probably disliked the cold just as much as he did. He once stopped by on the coldest day of last year's winter and had been visiting in the late afternoon to warm up ever since.

_She got startled a little, when she heard three discrete knocks, but hurried to the door; it wasn't any weather to leave someone waiting outside. As soon as she saw him, she invited him to come in. His coat had been soaked from the snow that still lay on his shoulders and his cheeks were red from the cold. His voice was a little shaky when he told her that he had initially come to check up on her animals, because a lot of animals had already gotten sick. But somehow he ended up on her coach near the hearth-fire with a cup of warm milk in his hands. They once had a conversation about the terrible weather and he had confessed to her why he hated the cold so much. 'Because animals and cold don't mix,' he'd said, but she knew he meant to say he didn't like to see the animals sick and cold._

She walked over to the wall where her calender hung and crossed out the eleventh of winter, noticing it would be Winter Harmony Day soon. She wondered if it'd be appropriate to give Vaughn some chocolate, but quickly shoved the idea aside. She doubted he thought of her as anything more than just a friend. She made herself a cup of hot chocolate and sat down on the couch. Although she knew he wasn't in town, she still hoped he would stop by. Even though she had done the best she could to make the small farmhouse as cosy as possible, she couldn't help but feel lonely sometimes. Whenever she felt lonely, she would consider buying the blue feather Chen had in stock, just in case she'd meet someone she would want to spend the rest of her life with. Out of habit, she stirred the spoon around in her cup, creating a little chocolate whirlpool.

"_What's this for?" Chelsea asked Chen, examining the blue feather. Chen smiled mysteriously._

"_It's used to propose to your true love," he answered. She ran her fingertips over the soft edge of the feather._

"_True love?" she repeated, a bit sceptical._

"_Yes, only your true love. Any other than them would refuse your proposal," he paused, "Or so the story goes," he quickly added. She examined the feather once more, before putting it back into the shelf._

"_Your time too will come," he told her before she left. She had only smiled politely._

She sipped her hot chocolate. Today was Monday. It wouldn't be long before Wednesday would come, she told herself as she looked out of the window. Fresh snowflakes slowly whirled down and covered up the tracks she had left in the snow. She took another sip and let out a surprised yelp when her cat stroked along her leg. She patted her lap and the furry creature jumped on it to seat itself comfortably. She slowly stroked the cat while it purred appreciatively.

_Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the one who had knocked on her door. She invited him in and went to the kitchen to make him some milk._

_"You're actually quite similar to a stray cat," Chelsea mused as she cooked and watched Vaughn raise an eyebrow._

_"You always come back for milk," she laughed. He laughed too, seeing the similarity now._

_"Not just milk, actually," he corrected her. Surprised, she looked up, her cheeks coloured a light shade of pink. He smiled uncomfortably and cleared his throat._

_"I meant to say I appreciate your friendship in the least just as much." He didn't know the colour of his face matched hers perfectly._

* * *

The fourteenth of winter, Mirabelle knocked on the door of his room and came in with a mischievous smile on her face. He had just been packing his toolbox.

"A package for you has been delivered," she beamed. Vaughn raised an eyebrow, interested. He never received packages these days.

"Just put it over there, I'll take a look at it later." Mirabelle complied and left.

As soon as the door clicked shut, he stood up to grab the package. He examined it carefully. The package was dark blue and neatly wrapped. It lacked the address of the sender so he wouldn't know if it was her who sent it. He slowly unwrapped it and his eyes widened a little in surprise. For the first time, he'd received chocolate on Winter Harmony Day. He smiled when he noticed the packing of the chocolate read _'Milk Chocolate'_.

* * *

_I hope I am not the only one who thinks Vaughn would make a great cat._


End file.
